My Bloody Scallywag
by cunninglinguist20
Summary: Basically, this is my take on what I WANT to happen, post After Hours. I'm ignoring the news that Lisa Edelstein is leaving .sob. and this doesn't really follow how the series looks to finish from the promo. It's my first fic, please be kind! x
1. Chapter 1

Obviously, I don't own House. If I did, Lisa Edelstein would definitely not be leaving.

**A/N Thanks guys for all your amazing reviews! I'll definitely be continuing this fic and I'm in the middle of writing the next chapter! Big love to you all xxx**

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><p>"I hope we can be friends again soon, you bloody scallywag!"<p>

House replayed Rachel's letter in his mind over and over again. As much as he hated to admit it, he really quite liked the kid. It made Cuddy happy that they got on and not so long ago, a happy Cuddy made for a happy House.

He hoped that the letter wasn't just from Rachel; maybe Cuddy wanted him around too. But the last thing he wanted was for them to be friends; he wanted her in his arms again. He missed the way she would nuzzle into his neck, all warm and soft. He missed kissing her gentle lips and running his hands across the sensuous curves of her body. And most of all, he missed her company. She was one of the few people on an intellectual par to him and he used to love talking to her. That was all gone now; their exchanges were minimal and only occurred when necessary, never about anything that he actually wanted to talk about.

But she was the one to save him, yet again and he could see that she still cared about him. Maybe he shouldn't have told her that she was last on his list; not because he didn't want to see her - there was nothing he wanted more than to be with her. It was because he didn't want her to see him weak or vulnerable. She was right when she told him that he wanted to fix his leg in order to fix his life. Maybe if his leg didn't hurt, he could've coped with the pain of dealing with the potential death of the love of his life. Maybe he wouldn't have needed the pills and maybe she would still be his.

He shook himself out of his self-deprecating train of thought as Wilson strode through the door, a Reuben in one hand and a tray of coffee in the other.

"There better not be any pickle on that sandwich. And I don't want any fancy pants girly coffee like those cappuccinos you drink; give it me strong and black."

"Do you really doubt how well I know you? I even got you extra cheese." said Wilson as he handed House the sandwich and an Americano "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine" replied House as he tucked into his sandwich and slurped his coffee "I guess I don't give you enough credit. Thanks Wilson."

Wilson was taken aback by House's utterance "Who are you and what have you done with Gregory House? You must still be groggy from the anasthetic."

House smiled at Wilson as the door to his room opened. In ran Rachel, dressed in a pirate outfit.

"Arrr you bloody scallywag! You need to get better soon so you can walk the plank!" Rachel exclaimed as she ran over to the bed and began to climb up.

"Rachel sweetie, don't climb around House, he's very fragile at the minute" Cuddy's gentle voice filled the room and House looked up to see her stood in the doorway.

"Arrr you're alright matey, climb aboard" House said to Rachel and helped her up onto his hospital bed.

"Sorry to barge in on you guys, Rachel just wouldn't stop begging me to come and see you." Cuddy smiled as she saw House wrap an arm around Rachel so she wouldn't fall off the bed.

"That's okay" said Wilson "I've got patients to see to anyway. Enjoy your sandwich House! Bye Rachel, bye Lisa" And Wilson was gone.

"I miss you Hows. Did you like my letter?" Rachel said as she began to nuzzle into House's side.

"I miss you too kiddo and your letter was great. And anyway, how come I have to walk the plank?"

"Mommy said you'd been naughty and that was why you couldn't come round anymore." Rachel said as she looked to her mom for approval. Cuddy folded her arms defensively as House smiled at Rachel's comment.

"Mommy misses you too Hows. She wears your shirts sometimes and they smell like you" Rachel nuzzled further into House's chest as he looked over at Cuddy who had gone a rather deep shade of red.

"Rachel honey, I think it might be time to go" said a rather embarrassed Cuddy as she walked over to the bed to get her daughter.

Rachel pulled a face and reluctantly began to shuffle off the side of the bed. Cuddy bent down to help Rachel off the hospital bed and her eyes met House's.

"I miss you too. Sorry, Cuddy" said House, not breaking the eye contact between them.

Cuddy froze for a second; shocked by House's apology. She couldn't deal with this now and had to leave.

"Bye House. C'mon Rach, say goodbye" Cuddy took Rachel's hand and started walking towards the door.

"Bye Hows! I'll come and see you soon" Said Rachel as she skipped off with her mother.

"See ya kid, bye Cuddy" replied a dejected House.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all your kind reviews on the first chapter. Hope you like this one as much! **

I still don't own House, sadly.

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><p>As soon as they were out of his room, Cuddy picked Rachel up and almost ran over to the elevator. Ever since they'd broken up, she'd constantly told herself that she was doing the right thing and that she'd made the right choice. But as soon as her eyes had met his stunning blue orbs, regret flooded her body and she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms again. She loved him more than she thought it was possible to love someone and even though he was an absolute idiot when it came to their relationship, she felt empty without him.<p>

She'd spent so long trying to convince herself that it was the right decision and that she was protecting Rachel, but she could see that Rachel loved House too and it was wrong to rip him out of her life like that. Cuddy had always wanted some stability in Rachel's life and that was why she ended up with Lucas; he was reliable and dependable – everything House wasn't. But it wasn't House who had chosen to leave them; Cuddy forced him away and introduced the instability into Rachel's life. She wanted to go back in to his room and beg him to have her back but she was too stubborn to admit that she was wrong.

She reached the elevator and put Rachel down beside her, holding on to her non-sword filled hand. She pressed the elevator call button with a heavy heart; desperately she longed to run back into House's room to tell him she loved him, missed him and wanted him back. Glancing over her shoulder, she stole a look back to House's room, longing to be back in there with him. Rachel tugged at her Mom's hand and Cuddy turned to face her to see the lift doors had opened to reveal Wilson with his head buried in a file.

"Wilson!" shouted Rachel excitedly as she let go of Cuddy's hand and ran over to him for a cuddle.

"Hey Rach! Or should I say Pirate Rachel? Hey Cuddy, how was he?"

"He's… different. He apologized and this time I really think that he meant it."

"What? What did you say to him?" Wilson quizzed Cuddy, shocked at the revelation.

"I couldn't say anything. I just had to leave. Wilson I can't deal with this; I was sure that breaking up with him was the right thing to do but when I'm with him, I want to be _with_ him. I love him Wilson, so ridiculously, infuriatingly much." Tears began to well in Cuddy's eyes and this didn't go unnoticed by Rachel.

"Momma sad? Momma don't cry." Rachel reached her arms out to Cuddy and Cuddy bent down to pull her daughter into her arms.

"I'm okay sweetie" Cuddy said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Cuddy, tell him. You know you two are meant to be together; no one else could put up to him and you know you compare every other man you've ever been with to him. Bite the bullet Cuddy, you need each other."

Cuddy knew Wilson was right and hated to admit it. She nuzzled into Rachel's hair, wishing that this would all go away.

"I don't know Wilson. I can't do this now. Please just go and make sure he's okay." Cuddy walked past Wilson and stepped into the elevator, staring out of the doors to House's room.

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><p>House punched his mattress, hating himself for what he'd said to Cuddy. He'd opened himself up to her again and all she did was run away. He couldn't believe it but he really missed Rachel too. Against all the odds, she'd melted his icy exterior and he actually enjoyed being around her. He loved the way she was a tiny version of her Mom; smart, funny and determined. Staring at the ceiling, he felt hopeless and empty. He heard his door open but didn't care who it was; he knew that it wouldn't be the one person he so desperately wanted it to be.<p>

"Hey, you okay? How was Cuddy?" asked Wilson as he wandered over to the seat beside House's bed, pretending that he didn't already know .

"She was fine." Replied House, not moving his eyes from the ceiling.

"House c'mon, you know you need to change, you've admitted that yourself, and hiding what you're feeling isn't a good way to go about that. What did she say to you?"

House knew that he couldn't carry on pretending that he was okay when really he was shattered inside. But he didn't want, no he didn't know how, to talk about his feelings to someone else. It was something that until Mayfield, he'd never done and even then he'd never felt comfortable discussing his emotions. He knew he had to get over this and thought this to be a better time than ever. He could change and maybe if he did, life wouldn't be so bad.

"She barely said anything. Rachel did the talking; apparently Cuddy misses me. I sure as hell miss her. I told her that I was sorry and that I missed her and she ran out of here like a bat out of hell."

"Oh House." Wilson said in his best I-honestly-didn't-know-this-already tone.

"What the hell do I do Wilson? I tell her I'm sorry and she runs off! I'm rubbish with stuff like this; I don't _do _emotions and feelings. I need her back and I have no idea what to do about it." House looked at Wilson who saw the pain and longing in his eyes. He'd only ever seen House like this once; when Wilson was getting ready to donate part of his liver to Tucker.

"Just give her time House. You know you're supposed to be together; it'll happen." Wilson felt a sense of déjà vu as he spoke. "She still loves you, she just needs to work out a way of dealing with all of this. You've hardly helped the situation, what with getting married and all."

"I know, I know, quit with the judgemental talk." House resigned himself to the realisation that he would have to wait for Cuddy, no matter how badly he wanted her back this second. He'd been a jerk and he couldn't expect to be forgiven instantly. He wanted her back and he knew he couldn't carry on along his usual self-destructive path. It was time for Gregory House to grow up and become the man Cuddy needed him to be.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own House, yadda yadda yadda.

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><p>It had been 3 days since Cuddy had brought Rachel to see House and he still couldn't get them out of his mind. House knew that he'd never be able to say everything he wanted to say to Cuddy's face so he decided to follow Rachel's example and write her a letter. Wilson had told him that he had to give Cuddy time and he knew his friend was right so House chose not to write to her, but to Rachel instead. He grabbed a pad of paper from the bedside table and began to write;<p>

_Dear Ship Mate Rachel,_

_I hope you're keeping up your pirately duties and haven't been made to walk the plank by Cap'n Cuddy. Maybe you could come by soon and we could watch cartoons together, like we used to?_

_Your Bloody Scallywag._

_p.s arrrrrrrrrr_

House re-read the letter and felt stupid; he wanted to rip it up and throw it in the bin. But he restrained himself, knowing that he had to change his self-destructive ways. He slid the letter into an envelope and wrote on the front "To My Bloody Scallywag".

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><p>Cuddy sat in her office, going over the file she'd been reading for the past hour. No matter how much she tried to concentrate, nothing was going in and all she could think about was House. She longed to go and see him but knew that if she caught a glimpse of his beautiful blue eyes, she wouldn't have the willpower to resist him. She was too stubborn to go back on her decision, even if it meant enduring this devastating heartache. For the twenty-seventh time, Cuddy started to read the file when there was a knock at the door.<p>

"Come in, it's unlocked" shouted Cuddy, not looking up from the file.

"Hey Cuddy, I've got something for you." Wilson entered the room and walked over to her desk with an envelope in his hands. "Well, actually it's for you to give to Rachel. I feel a lot like piggy-in-the-middle with you guys at the moment."

"Thanks Wilson. I know, it can't be easy for you and I don't want you to feel you have to take sides. How is he doing?" Replied Cuddy, taking the envelope from Wilson.

"He's okay, missing you a lot. Missing Rachel a lot too, actually." Wilson said, surprised. "His wound is healing well and he should be able to go home in a couple of days. The team are with him now, they've got a new case and it seemed to perk him up a bit."

"Oh, good." Said Cuddy toying with the envelope.

"Right, well I've got patients to see." Wilson headed over to the door of Cuddy's office "And that letter's not for you, it's for Rachel. So no peeking!" Wilson left Cuddy alone again and she heaved a deep sigh. She wanted to know what he'd written; she hadn't spoken to him in days and it was too long. She desperately longed to talk to him again, even just about a case or to berate him for ruining some other ridiculously expensive piece of hospital equipment.

She got up from behind her desk and went to lock the door to her office. It was only a letter but she felt naughty sneaking a look at the letter intended for her daughter. She gently prised the sealed envelope open, unfolding the letter within. She read it and smiled, as tears welled in her eyes. Just as she'd meant the letter to House from Rachel to be from her too, Cuddy so badly wanted House to have written that with both her and Rachel in mind. Maybe this was House's own sort-of treaty, trying to bring these warring lives back together again.

She had to do something; looking at her watch she noted that it was five to five – surely the Dean of Medicine could leave a little early? Cuddy grabbed her coat and purse and hastily made her way out of the hospital.

As she walked through the front door, Rachel ran over to her mom as Marina looked surprised by the unexpected return of Cuddy.

"Hi baby!" Cuddy picked up her excited daughter and gave her a big cuddle. "Hi Marina, I managed to leave work early so you're free to go!"

"Okay Dr Cuddy, have a nice evening. Bye Rach!" Rachel waved to Marina as she walked out of the door and then turned her attention to her Mom.

"Mommy home quick." Cuddy junior looked confused as she played with her senior's hair.

"I know honey, I've got a surprise for you." Cuddy put Rachel down and fished in her purse to take out House's letter. "You've got a letter!" Rachel's eyes lit up as she grabbed the letter from Cuddy and tried to read it.

"Who from, who from?" Rachel had the letter upside down and was squinting at the words on the page, trying to make some sense of them.

"Here I'll read it to you." Cuddy picked Rachel up and sat them both down on the arm of the sofa, reading House's letter to them both.

After she'd finished reading, she looked at her daughter whose face was as bright as on Christmas morning. "Hows! We see Hows? Peeeaaass Mommy, I miss him! I know he was naughty but he had time out and now we see him?"

Cuddy could never say no to her adorable daughter, not that she wanted to in this case. "Okay baby, I'll go and change my clothes and then we'll go and see Hows, okay?"

"Yes yes yes yes!" Rachel shouted, excitedly clapping her hands as she was carried through to Cuddy's bedroom.

Cuddy put her down on the bed and began to get changed. Rachel started jumping up and down on the springy mattress, barely able to contain her excitement at the prospect of seeing her best friend again. Cuddy smiled at her daughter; it was like Rachel was a representation of the feelings that Cuddy locked away inside.

After a quick change Cuddy and Rachel set off to the hospital to see House. Cuddy kept checking her hair and make-up in the mirror while they were stopped at the lights. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help wanting to look nice for him; he knew the way she presented herself was for him, he'd told her before and she'd pretty much admitted it. Rachel sat in her seat, bouncing her legs up and down as she sang the Pirate cartoon theme tune to herself. She wasn't going to show it, but Lisa Cuddy was just as excited as her two year old daughter; her stomach was full of butterflies, flittering around in excitement at seeing House again.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, hope you're still enjoying this! I've been having a bit of writer's block so any suggestions you have for the story would be great! Just leave them in the reviews and I'll try and incorporate them into the story :) Happy reading.

And still, I don't own House. If I did, the finale wouldn't have been so ridiculous.

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><p>Pulling into her space in the car park, Cuddy was suddenly unsure if it was the right thing to do. House was back on Vicodin; she'd witnessed him popping pills like candy and we was even more screwed up now than when she'd first saved him in his bathroom a year ago.<p>

She looked across at her daughter, clutching House's letter in her hands, staring up at her mom with eyes full of excitement. It wasn't fair to turn around and go home now; it wasn't fair to get Rachel's hopes up and then crush them. Cuddy sighed, torn between going to see the man she both loved and hated at the same time, or taking her daughter home and carrying on with their lives without him.

The thought of a life without House hit Cuddy like a punch to the chest and it made her heart ache. For so long, House had been a big part of her life; even before they were together he was always there, annoying and pestering her. But she loved it. She loved their sarcastic exchanges and mock arguments. He was her favourite person in the world, besides her daughter, and she couldn't bare to think about a life that didn't involve him.

"Mommy come onnnnn I wanna see Hows!" Rachel shouted as she started fiddling with her seat belt to try and release herself from her child seat.

"Okay sweetie, let's go." Cuddy smiled as she lifted her daughter out of her seat; no matter how much of a jerk he was, she loved House more than she thought possible and she needed him in her life.

Cuddy walked through the hospital doors, following a very excited little girl in a pirate costume skipping towards the elevator. The hospital was quiet and Cuddy didn't encounter any staff on her way up to House's room. She was glad to not have to explain her presence at the hospital again after she'd left just an hour earlier. When the elevator reached the floor of the ICU, Cuddy took in a deep breath before heading onto the corridor, walking hand in hand with her daughter to see House. She didn't know what she was going to say or do, she just needed to see him.

When Rachel caught sight of House's room she let go of Cuddy's hand and ran over to the glass door, squidging her nose up against it and waving at House frantically.

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><p>House felt a bit better today; his leg wasn't hurting too much and there was an omnibus of Prescription Passion just begging to be watched. He fluffed his pillows and laid back, ready for the bombardment of cheesy, unrealistic scenes filled with doctors who had ridiculously complicated private lives.<p>

Half way through the second episode, he heard a noise against the glass doors infront of him, but couldn't see anything over the top of his bed. He shifted up in the bed to see what was happening when he heard a familiar voice.

"Howwwwssss! Howwwwsss! I here to see you! Howwwwsss!" Rachel's pudgy little face was pressed against the door and she was flailing her arms in excitement. He felt his mouth curl into a smile and a feeling of warmth spread inside him. He shuffled to the side of his bed, reaching for his crutches to go and see his little visitor when Cuddy came into view and opened the door for her and Rachel.

Rachel sprinted over to House's bed and wrapped her arms around his good leg, squeezing as hard as she could with her little arms.

"Hey trouble!" House bent down and picked Rachel up, putting her down on the bed next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I got your letter silly! And I made mommy bring me here so I could see you and we could watch cartoons." Rachel started nuzzling into his arm until he lifted it up and put it round her. Rachel started playing with the remote for the television, trying to find something for them to watch.

"Hi Cuddy. How are you?" House asked her, trying to break the ice between them. He couldn't help but stare at her; she looked beautiful in jeans and a low cut top. House knew that she would look incredible in anything she wore, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"I'm okay thanks, how are you? How's your leg doing?" Cuddy replied. Small talk between them felt wrong; their conversations were usually just witty comebacks to whatever the other had said. Even when they were together, they'd never spoken like this.

"I'm alright, better for seeing you two." House smiled at Cuddy, melting her heart with his piercing stare. "My leg's okay actually, it's not hurting too much today".

"Found it! Piraaates aarrrr" Rachel shouted as she managed to get her favourite cartoon on the television. "Sit mommy, watch!"

Cuddy sat down in the chair next to the bed as Rachel snuggled into House to get comfortable. She looked over at the pair and smiled to herself; Rachel brought out such a lovely, soft side to House – he would never tell her but Cuddy knew just how much House cared about Rachel.

The three of them sat watching the cartoon, Cuddy occasionally huffing and tutting at the mild swearing and shouts of "booobiiieeeessss" from Rachel through the episode. But the giggles coming from both Rachel _and _House made her ignore any annoyances with the show and she enjoyed that the three of them were together again. When her and House were dating, she loved the feeling of them being a proper family and it was one of the things she'd missed most of all since they'd broken up.

The episode was drawing to an end and the giggles from Rachel had died down. House looked down at her resting on his chest and saw that she'd fallen asleep cuddling him. He smiled, he didn't know why but it made him happy. He looked over at Cuddy who still had her eyes glued to the TV.

"I think you enjoy it more than she does" House whispered to Cuddy.

"She hasn't had a nap today, she must be exhausted. Here I'll take her home." Cuddy stood up to retrieve Rachel as House put an arm around the little sleeping girl.

"Do you have to go? I mean if you have somewhere you need to be that's okay but…" House didn't know how to finish the sentence. He didn't want her to run off again like last time. "This is nice…"

"No, we don't need to go right away." Cuddy sat back down, smiling at House's affection for her and Rachel. "This _is_ nice. I've missed this, House."

House's heart skipped a beat as he almost couldn't believe what he'd just heard. She missed him too. Rachel had told him so last time she came to visit but to hear it from her was amazing. "Maybe we should do this more often? I could make you guys dinner sometime?" House gazed into Cuddy's eyes, immersing himself in those beautiful blue pools.

"That would be great." Cuddy replied, involuntarily reaching out her right hand to rest on top of his.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been absent for so long, stuff has majorly been getting in the way and I didn't really know where to take the story! But I'm back and I'm going to take this one chapter at a time :)

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><p>The touch of her hand atop his sent electric tingles across his skin and through his body. It had been so long since she'd touched him and his body responded to the familiar texture of her skin with a longing welcome. His heart began to race and he mentally scolded himself for acting like such a lovesick teenager. He glanced down at her hand, and traced his gaze up along her arm and past her shoulder to her face where his eyes met hers. Her eyes glistened and she looked away when their gazes met.<p>

"Please, look at me," House implored "you're so beautiful".

Cuddy returned her gaze to meet his eyes and felt herself melt into those beautiful pools of radiant blue, longing to climb onto the bed with him and be in his arms once more.

"Mommy is very beautiful Hows. And so are you. But in a boy way" Rachel said sleepily as she awoke from her nap. "I need to go potty now." Rachel began to fidget and House wrapped her in his arms, begrudgingly removing his hand from beneath Cuddy's. He put her on the floor next to her mum and she toddled over to the bathroom at the side of House's room. Cuddy stood up and followed Rachel, almost thankful for the interruption because she had no words to retort to what House had said. It wasn't strange that he'd complimented her but it struck her that for once he wasn't admiring 'the girls' or her ass; his words were so loving and kind.

While the Cuddy clan were in the bathroom House missed the warm little bundle that had been lay beside him and looked down to his hand, longing for Cuddy's touch once again. They soon reappeared and Cuddy walked out of the bathroom with Rachel on her hip.

"She's exhausted House, I'm going to get her home." Cuddy said in a tone that indicated to House that she didn't really want to go as she stroked her daughter's hair and kissed her forehead.

"Oh… okay if you've got to go." House tried to be nonchalant but knew immediately that he had failed miserably. "Don't leave it too long until your next visit though."

"No… mommy… stay…" Rachel mumbled, half asleep as she nuzzled into her mother's shoulder.

"I could bring lunch tomorrow and we could eat in here if you like? Would make a change from the cafeteria" Cuddy smiled, excited by the thought of future plans with House.

"That would be great. Really great." House beamed "I look forward to it already."

"Great, I've got a meeting until half 1 but I'll come straight from that. Goodnight House, sleep well." Cuddy replied as she turned to leave his room.

"Goodnight Cuddy, night little Cuddy". House said, failing to repress the huge grin spreading across his face.

He watched them both leave, wishing that they didn't have to go. He felt different in some way; when he was with her he hadn't felt the need to be sarcastic or create witty comebacks to anything she said. Maybe he was finally growing up.

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><p>After Cuddy had put Rachel to bed, she slouched onto her sofa and heaved a deep sigh. They'd only been apart for an hour but she already missed House and found herself reaching for her cell to send him a message. She typed countless texts to him, but found herself deleting every single one because they just weren't quite right. She finally settled on a text after what felt like an age of deciding – "<em>Reuben, no pickles?". <em> Then she began the kisses or no kisses debate. Deliberating for a while, she eventually decided on one kiss and sent the message; her heart pounding as she pressed the keys. "This is stupid", she thought to herself. She was acting like a pubescent girl, getting all excited about some guy she liked. In reality, she was a middle aged woman with a daughter, desperately trying to sort out the mess of a relationship she had with the man she loved.

Every thirty seconds or so Cuddy found herself checking her cell for a reply from House, her heart sinking each time she found no message from him. Trying to push thoughts of him to the back of her mind, she snuggled under the blanket on the sofa and began to watch some nature documentary that was playing on the TV in the background. She found her mind wandering constantly as she tried to focus her attention on the images flickering on the screen. After what felt like an eternity, her phone buzzed and she scrambled under the blanket trying to find it. Delving down the side of the sofa she retrieved her cell and frantically opened it to see his message – "_Sounds perfect, you know me so well. I love you Cuddy x". _


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own House. If I did, I probably would've been a bit more careful with "Twenty Vicodin" and not let it be leaked online.  
>Hope you guys enjoy this!<p>

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><p>Unlike Cuddy, there'd been no deliberation in House's mind over what he wanted to say in his text. He knew he had to break down his emotional walls and bare his soul to Cuddy if he wanted any chance of having her back in his life again. He was making himself vulnerable to show her that he didn't want to hide away from any potential pain anymore; he wanted to open himself to her and give himself to her without holding back.<p>

He didn't believe in fate or superstition but he felt that Lisa was, in some way or another, his "soulmate". He cringed as he thought of describing her in that way but he genuinely believed that there couldn't be another woman in the world who would understand him as well as she did. After everything that House had put Cuddy through, she was still willing to spend time with him and be with him but he knew that his luck couldn't last much longer. He hadn't always been so miserable and pessimistic and he'd realised that this didn't have to define him any longer and now was the time to make a change, before it was too late. Cuddy never replied to his text, but he wasn't too surprised - there wasn't really very much that she could say to his message and he hadn't really expected anything back from her. Just telling her how he felt was what mattered to him right now and he'd made the first step to hopefully redeeming himself in Cuddy's eyes. Content, for the first time in a while, he drifted off to sleep.

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><p>Cuddy read the message from House over and over again. Even when they were together it was rare for him to profess his love to her or be so affectionate. She toyed with the idea of replying – she loved him too, of course she did, he was House. He'd been a part of her life for so long now that the idea of a life without him wasn't really a life at all. No matter what he did, she couldn't help but long for his company, even though she knew he was immature and selfish. Since his 'operation' though, he'd been different. He wasn't sarcastic or rude and he didn't try to annoy her. Maybe House really was growing up. She drew her phone to her chest and held it there, as if it was like having him there with her. Snuggled up under her blanket, she fell asleep, ready to dream of him.<p>

Cuddy's alarm sounded from her bedroom and she awoke surprised at her surroundings, before she realised that she had fallen asleep on the sofa. She groggily stood up and wandered over to the bathroom to take a shower before getting herself and Rachel ready for the day. Marina arrived just after Rachel and Cuddy had eaten breakfast together and once Marina was taking care of Rachel, Cuddy took a moment to double check how she looked, before heading out to her car. She'd made an extra special effort with her appearance today; her make-up was immaculate, she didn't have a hair out of place and she'd worn the skirt suit that she knew House liked. Looking at her watch, she wished the next few hours away so that she could be with him for their lunch date. Cuddy kissed Rachel goodbye and walked to her car with a spring in her step, excited for her day to unfold.

The next few hours slowly passed by and Cuddy found herself getting more and more impatient in her meetings and with various queries from her staff. It got to 12 and she headed up to the conference room for her meeting with the Board to discuss the budget proposals for the next year. Throughout the meeting she was amicable and unchallenging as she yearned for the meeting to come to a close so she could get back to House. The hands of the clock on the wall slowly dragged through the minutes until finally, at 20 past 1, the meeting was over and she raced from the conference room to the elevator.

There was a lovely little deli just around the corner from the hospital where she dashed to collect their lunches that she had pre-ordered, being sure to check House's reuben for no pickles. Content with her order, Cuddy rushed back to the hospital and stopped by her office for a quick check of her appearance. As usual, she looked stunning, but she couldn't help but scrutinize any little imperfections she thought she could see, slicking on another coat of lip gloss and ruffling her hair. She took a deep breath as she took a final glance in the mirror and set off upstairs to House's room.

* * *

><p>House spent the morning flicking through the channels on the TV, trying to find something to take his mind off having to wait to see Cuddy. In preparation for their lunch meeting, he'd got one of the nurses to help him take a shower – after a few days of bed rest he wasn't feeling particularly hygienic. This passed some time but he still found himself clock watching and decided to page Wilson for some company. Minutes later Wilson raced through the door to House's room, panting and looking worried.<p>

"What's happened? Are you okay?" Wilson asked, bemused.

"Nothing, I'm fine. What's the matter with you?" House sat up, confused by Wilson's outburst.

"You paged me to get here ASAP, I thought there was an emergency? I've just run out on a consult with a patient to get here!" Wilson rested his hand on his hip and looked at House with a look of annoyance and disappointment that House was all too familiar with.

"Sorry, I was just… bored." House replied with a look in his eyes that Wilson saw to mean that he really was sorry. "Didn't mean to bother you."

"No, no it's okay. I'm just in the middle of something, I can come back later and we could have lunch?" The look in House's eyes had elicited guilt from Wilson as he felt bad for not being there for his friend.

"Can't do lunch I'm afraid. Got a hot date with Cuddy." House's eyes lit up as he said her name and Wilson was taken aback.

"Uh… ah… oh…. What? Like a proper date?"

"Well we're eating together… I'd say so. Now scram so I can get ready." House smirked back at House.

"You're the one that paged me here!" Wilson shook his head as he headed out of the room. "Enjoy lunch House!"

House watched Wilson walk down the corridor before glancing at the clock. It was just after 1 and butterflies began to race around House's stomach as he thought about his impending meeting with Cuddy. He couldn't wait to see her and slid out of his bed onto his crutches to hobble into the bathroom at the side of his room. Rummaging through his bag of toiletries, he pulled out a razor and some shaving cream and set to work. New House, new look he thought as he drew the razor across his stubbled jaw.

* * *

><p>Cuddy looked at her watch as she stood in the elevator, heading up to see House. She willed the elevator to speed up as she felt like an excited school girl at the prospect of seeing her crush. As the doors opened, she strolled through the corridor, her heart pounding faster with every step she took towards his room. She didn't look up until she'd walked through the door to his room and gasped as she saw his clean-shaven new look.<p>

"Wow. Hi House, you look well" Cuddy rambled, trying to form a sentence whilst her brain went into overdrive trying to process his new look. "How are you feeling?" She moved over to the tray table across his bed and began to unpack lunch.

"I'm okay thanks, better for seeing you" House looked up at Cuddy expectedly "Thanks for this." House smiled at her and she returned the grin, beginning to giggle as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry, I just can't get used to an de-bearded House, it's so strange! Rachel is going to be distraught; she thought that you were a pirate because you had a beard!" Cuddy laughed to herself as she unwrapped their sandwiches.

"I'm still a pirate, just a more refined one!" House joked back, "It won't take long to grow back anyway." The mention of Rachel seeing him again gave House hope that he and Cuddy were back on the right path.

"One reuben, no pickles for Mister fussy-pants" Cuddy said as she handed him his lunch. "And I'm glad you said that, I prefer beardy House" Cuddy smiled at him with a sparkle in her eyes.


End file.
